NERC ONE Planet DTP
Understanding how the management of urban habitats affects biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services is essential for creating sustainable and liveable cities. Lawns are a major land cover in urban ecosystems, particularly in the Global North, where they can cover over 20% of city area (Hedblom et al. 2017). Although the creation and maintenance of lawns can have harmful ecological impacts (e.g., through chemical application), they do provide a range of beneficial ecosystem services, especially relative to impermeable hard surfaces. In addition to cultural services such as recreation, lawns can mitigate flooding through rain infiltration, sequester carbon, moderate urban heat island effects, and provide habitat for biodiversity. Given these benefits, the current trend for replacing living lawns with artificial alternatives warrants urgent attention (Francis 2018). A growing desire for low-maintenance gardens and public green spaces has seen a rapid uptake in the installation of artificial lawns constructed from synthetic polymers (plastics). However, the scale of the uptake remains unquantified and the impacts on the provision of ecosystem services little known.
The PhD project will use a range of methods to quantify the impact of artificial lawns on the structure and function of urban ecosystems. Remote sensing will assess the current distribution of artificial lawns and associated temporal changes in habitat. Field observation and experiments will compare ecosystem functioning in real vs artificial grass, to include some or all of the following depending on the student’s interests: (i) soil biota and soil health; (ii) aboveground habitat and biodiversity; (iii) carbon sequestration; (iv) infiltration and run-off; (v) surface temperature; (vi) shedding of microplastics. The project offers an excellent opportunity for research training within a dynamic team of ecologists with expertise in remote sensing (Dr Rachel Gaulton, Newcastle University) and urban ecology and soil science (Dr Mark Goddard and Dr Miranda Prendergast-Miller, Northumbria University). The PhD student will also benefit from collaboration with CASE partners the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), in particular the expertise of Dr Chloe Sutcliffe (Research Fellow in Sustainable Horticulture). RHS data gathered from gardeners will help us to understand the social drivers underlying the observed land-use change and enable us to identify optimal strategies to help facilitate the transition towards more sustainable gardening practices.
Key Research Gaps and Questions:
- What is the scale of uptake of artificial lawns in UK cities and how much vegetated habitat is being lost?
- How does artificial grass alter biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services in urban green spaces?
- What are the underlying social drivers of artificial lawn installation and how to we incentivise more sustainable gardening practices?
Prerequisites:
The project is suitable for a student with a background in ecology or environmental science. Experience of remote sensing, image processing, GIS and/or soil science is desirable. For more information, please contact Dr Mark Goddard ([Email Address Removed]).
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